China in the Antarctic

Most Australians don't realise that China is sneaking around Australia's Antarctic claim.

...Beijing’s annual spending on polar expeditions has trebled in the last ten years and it is making a massive investment in polar-related infrastructure. Last summer, the Deputy Head of the China Arctic and Antarctic Administration Chen Lianzeng stated that the overall goal of China’s current five year polar plan was to increase China’s “status and influence” in polar affairs to better protect its “polar rights”.

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Yet for all the attention it receives, China is not putting a lot of money into its Arctic program—about 20 percent of its polar program goes on the Arctic (the rest on the Antarctic).

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There is talk of China establishing a fourth Antarctic base...

From the Jamestown China Brief.